Comments

That's good - because your TomTom is one GPS that is pretty worthless on a plane.

I have used my Garmins to plot a straight line course to the arriving airport and get a fairly accurate ETA and I get speed, direction we are flying, and altitude. During day flights I can zoom in on areas I see below - lakes, rivers, geographic areas of interest, highways, towns, etc. and see the name. At night I can "see" where we are instead of just looking down on a bunch of tiny little lights. And it doesn't hurt to have a cute flight attendant come by and ask me where we are at the moment. :wink: Obviously I am much more easily amused but, I am also available if the pilot gets lost!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll:

That's good - because your TomTom is one GPS that is pretty worthless on a plane.

That also doesn't answer my question :roll:

I have used my Garmins to plot a straight line course to the arriving airport and get a fairly accurate ETA and I get speed, direction we are flying, and altitude. During day flights I can zoom in on areas I see below - lakes, rivers, geographic areas of interest, highways, towns, etc. and see the name. At night I can "see" where we are instead of just looking down on a bunch of tiny little lights. And it doesn't hurt to have a cute flight attendant come by and ask me where we are at the moment. :wink: Obviously I am much more easily amused but, I am also available if the pilot gets lost!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll:

I already know the ETA, and if it changes during the flight it's announced. None of the other navigational info is of interest to me since I'm not piloting the plane. So it's really more of the "I do it because I can" factor.

Well, 'ole Mrs. Miller, my English teacher waayyy back in grade school taught us that a period at the end of a sentence denoted a statement and since I did not see a :?: I took it as a statement, not a question. I still don't see a question in there.

While I too don't see a "use" for a GPS on a flight, I would imagine it serves the same purpose as a gameboy, possibly a laptop, or even an inflight movie and that is as a distraction during the flight. I think it would be fun to be able to track the flight with a reasonable level of accuracy and not rely on the pilot to direct my attention.I will bring my GPS on my next flight if permitted by the airlines. Thanks for the info.

I already know the ETA, and if it changes during the flight it's announced. None of the other navigational info is of interest to me since I'm not piloting the plane. So it's really more of the "I do it because I can" factor.

Hmmmm. and how often do we all have the GPS running in the car when we don't really "need" to?

Deep down I know my wife hates it when I do that - but she sit patiently while I stick on the suction cup mount, plug in the power cord, turn on the gps, find the POI we are headed to which we have been to a hundred times before....

Don't forget Valentine's Day, guys. They deserve it for putting up with us. :roll:

Deep down I know my wife hates it when I do that - but she sit patiently while I stick on the suction cup mount, plug in the power cord, turn on the gps, find the POI we are headed to which we have been to a hundred times before....

Don't forget Valentine's Day, guys. They deserve it for putting up with us. :roll:

Don't forget Valentine's Day, guys. They deserve it for putting up with us. :roll:

Ya hear you on that one, maybe I'll get me... or ah pardon me, HER another nav unit, but I also need a reciprocating saw, so I might get that for her, and tell her it's an electric knife. Damm, decisions decisions.

Hmmmm. and how often do we all have the GPS running in the car when we don't really "need" to?

Seriously? NEVER. I used it the first day I had it on the way to work just to verify it did, in fact, work correctly. But I don't need to worry about taking it out of the car when I'm driving to the grocery store to pick up milk. For me, I got it as a navigational tool.

In looking back on a few posts I am being mis-quoted - it looks like Mark29's words are mine as well as some of fouremco's - I think fouremco started it somehow..... I may have to change my username to "anonymous". :lol:

I think we have managed to take this thread entirely Off Topic so I am going to quit.

In looking back on a few posts I am being mis-quoted - it looks like Mark29's words are mine as well as some of fouremco's - I think fouremco started it somehow..... I may have to change my username to "anonymous". :lol:

No, it's all fixed and 'mo better. The misquotes were there one minute and gone the next.....I live by the addage "Just because you only think you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you!"

:wink: -Jim_

Tim - one other question - when I attempt to insert an emoticon at the text insert cursor it always sends it to the very end of the all the text typed, even if it is 3 paragraphs away. I have to cut 'n paste to get it where I want it. Is that normal operation?

In looking back on a few posts I am being mis-quoted - it looks like Mark29's words are mine as well as some of fouremco's - I think fouremco started it somehow..... I may have to change my username to "anonymous". :lol:

Don't blame me, it's all Mark29's fault! :twisted:

No sir, it was not me - go back to the post I quoted, that's where the incorrect quotes started. But I know what I posted, so that's what I was responding to.

Signal acquisition can be tough at times. You definitely have to have a window seat and it helps to always be on the South side of the plane when flying coast to coast.

I do carry a Gilsson external patch antenna with a 3 foot lead and sometimes use it although since it is an active antenna is does draw down the GPS battery a little faster. The antenna can be slipped up under the window shade, which will hold it in place, and then it is easier to use the GPS. If you do not have a window seat and your seatmate does not mind you running the antenna wire (very thin) across their personal real estate then that can work too. If you travel more than 500 miles since the last time the GPS was turned on it will have a very hard time getting new ephemeral data, especially on a plane at those high speeds, but changing the internal clock to the new time zone may help. I don't know of any GPS that will automatically adjust after crossing a time zone. If I don't use it on one flight segment I always try to get a "fix" while on layover in the airport in case I want to use it on the next flight.

I tend to use my older Garmin IQue 3600 as it has capability of straight line routing ( aka off road) and maps do show names of geographic features, i.e., rivers, lakes, national parks, etc. I tried a TT920 on a long flight and other than knowing where you were it was a disappointment on getting the same information the 6 year old IQue can.

Thanks for your detailed reply. I think the relatively new HP Ipaq 310 can adjust the time automatically based on the current coordinates of the gps, but I'm not 100% sure. Of course that means you've already locked on to the sats for having gotten the position coordinates, making adjusting the internal clock to get a signal lock unnecessary.

From what I read the Ipaq has a World clock and most likely can be manually set to display two or more different time zones as can some of my Garmin units. I posed the auto adjust question to Infama as he has an IPaq 310.

From what I read the Ipaq has a World clock and most likely can be manually set to display two or more different time zones as can some of my Garmin units. I posed the auto adjust question to Infama as he has an IPaq 310.

Spyder,

Unc Ben is the expert here. I wont get my unit for a couple of weeks and even then, I will have to wait for Euro maps.

However, I have seen the screen shots. The Ipaq has 3 time zone clocks.

I don't know of any GPS that will automatically adjust after crossing a time zone. If I don't use it on one flight segment I always try to get a "fix" while on layover in the airport in case I want to use it on the next flight. -Jim-

Navigon does auto time zone changes...I think the iPaq may too, not sure.

I tried a Navigon 7100 back in NOV and did not recall it had that feature. I never left my time zone so it never occurred to me check. I gave my brother a 2100 for Xmas so I will check and see if that model does and how it works out of curiousity.

I own a 310, and when I first set up the unit it gave me the local time automatically once I got the signal lock. The reason I wasn't totally sure is as I haven't left my time zone since I got the gps I couldn't vouch for it. I suspect it would work within the US and Canada; the model for EU is the 314.

I tried a Navigon 7100 back in NOV and did not recall it had that feature. I never left my time zone so it never occurred to me check. I gave my brother a 2100 for Xmas so I will check and see if that model does and how it works out of curiousity.

-Jim-

AngelArs can confirm, but I have specifically seen this somewhere...I too was surprised.

I own a 310, and when I first set up the unit it gave me the local time automatically once I got the signal lock. The reason I wasn't totally sure is as I haven't left my time zone since I got the gps I couldn't vouch for it. I suspect it would work within the US and Canada; the model for EU is the 314.

Does the HP310 have a route simulation mode? I wonder if a time zone change would happen on a simulated trip across a time zone? Probably not. I guess you would actually have to be there.

I have heard/read stories by people who assumed that their GPS would auto-adjust time zones and got messed up when the ETA showing was still based on their own local time. Wouldn't that be a bummer to miss your departure time on the big boat for that once-in-a-lifetime cruise to Hawaii OR your wedding, or your own funeral, for that matter :lol: etc. because your GPS was wrong? :shock:

The simulation mode is at 1x speed, but there's another selection called 'fly over', during which the car icon can zoom along certain parts of the freeway in excess of 500mph! But there's no sound during this flyover mode.

The simulation mode is at 1x speed, but there's another selection called 'fly over', during which the car icon can zoom along certain parts of the freeway in excess of 500mph! But there's no sound during this flyover mode.

Yes, the flyover mode is nice but I much prefer the helicopter mode, especially in 3D - really cool!

It does have a simulation mode, I'll try to play around with it and see what happens.

Have you had a chance to try this yet - I did a couple of short runs and it doesn't work - ETA and local time stay the same. Looks like the auto adjust function kicks in when the actual GPS position crosses over time zones. What say you?

Hey, SpyderMan! I do get out, I do, I do ... but you, if the number of devices you've owned (GPSIII, GPSIII+, Rino 120s, SPIII, IQue3600, SP2610, GPS10, SP2730, nüvi 680, MIO C320 -the Navigon 7100, TT920 & Panasonic Strada went back! ) is any indication of the travelling you do, I have a LOOOOONG way to go to catch up with you. What are you trying to do any way - outdo Tim? And when are you adding the 310 to the list?

Hey, SpyderMan! I do get out, I do, I do ... but you, if the number of devices you've owned (GPSIII, GPSIII+, Rino 120s, SPIII, IQue3600, SP2610, GPS10, SP2730, nüvi 680, MIO C320 -the Navigon 7100, TT920 & Panasonic Strada went back! ) is any indication of the travelling you do, I have a LOOOOONG way to go to catch up with you. What are you trying to do any way - outdo Tim? And when are you adding the 310 to the list?

Kidding aside, what was the reason for returning the 920?

Cheers!

Uncle Ben,

Do you know how a local electronic chain here described the 920 in a flyer?"Tout simplement LE MEILLEUR". TT is king in Europe for sure.

Needless to say that at the time, I didn't know much about GPSs (and still don't.) I knew about Garmin's because I've had one on the boat for a few years, and this story is going back about three years... at which time I didn't know anything about TomTom.

Uncle Ben - You know, I still have every one of those GPSs I have listed -except the ones that went back. I used to say "I'm in the race...." but now I am begining to change my mantra to "He Who Dies With the Most Toys is Still Dead! :lol:

Re: the TT920. I really wanted a change from Garmin and Costco had a good price aroundh the holidays. I did not like the mapping - from the directions it gave me compared to my Garmins or the cartoon-ish look to the maps, or the fact it did not name a lot of streets I was approaching or the big creek I live near. Then when the POI database was coming up really short - could not find any Lowe's or Home Depot and who knows how many other large chains. MapShare is not what it is claimed to be -yet. I got tired of always hearing something like "enter the highway and bear left" - usually when getting on a multi-lane interstate type road. I saw no reason for that instruction. Took it on a cross country flight and all it was good for was as an MP3 player and I have plenty of those. I think TT is still stuck in European algorithms for directions and marketing. Voice input was almost more trouble than it was worth - only allowed address input. There are probably a few other things I did not like but I have forgotten.

I did like the fact it had both US and Euro maps.

As for the HP 310 - I have looked at the specs, but for now I am OK playing with my cheapo Mio C320 and I am going to wait to see how the new Garmin 880 and Naqvigon 8100 shake out. Changes coming for the Mio line as well since they bought Navman a year ago. I'm trying to be patient and not spend my Social Security check too fast this month! :lol:

Uncle Ben - You know, I still have every one of those GPSs I have listed -except the ones that went back. I used to say "I'm in the race...." but now I am begining to change my mantra to "He Who Dies With the Most Toys is Still Dead! :lol:

Re: the TT920. I really wanted a change from Garmin and Costco had a good price aroundh the holidays. I did not like the mapping - from the directions it gave me compared to my Garmins or the cartoon-ish look to the maps, or the fact it did not name a lot of streets I was approaching or the big creek I live near. Then when the POI database was coming up really short - could not find any Lowe's or Home Depot and who knows how many other large chains. MapShare is not what it is claimed to be -yet. I got tired of always hearing something like "enter the highway and bear left" - usually when getting on a multi-lane interstate type road. I saw no reason for that instruction. Took it on a cross country flight and all it was good for was as an MP3 player and I have plenty of those. I think TT is still stuck in European algorithms for directions and marketing. Voice input was almost more trouble than it was worth - only allowed address input. There are probably a few other things I did not like but I have forgotten.

I did like the fact it had both US and Euro maps.

As for the HP 310 - I have looked at the specs, but for now I am OK playing with my cheapo Mio C320 and I am going to wait to see how the new Garmin 880 and Naqvigon 8100 shake out. Changes coming for the Mio line as well since they bought Navman a year ago. I'm trying to be patient and not spend my Social Security check too fast this month! :lol:

-Jim-

Spyder,

For me its the opposite. Mios are just too slow for me. When you tap, there is always a delay.

As for Lowes, etc, I have all of those POIs. Did you load the free retail POI update from TT home page?? POI are not in short supply for the 920.

I agree that voice input is a gimmick, as its simply not necessary.

Finally, it's all a matter of taste. Garmin maps strike me as cartoonish, while TT maps seem more professional.